Tubular member for furniture and its method of manufacture



Jan. 19, 1965 J. M. TIOLA 3,1

TUBULAR MEMBER FOR FURNITURE AND ITS METHOD OF MANUFACTURE Filed Dec. 29, 1960 INVENTOR JOSEPH MAR/U8 T/OLA United States Patent 3,166,100 TUBULAR MEMBER FOR FURNITURE AND ITS METHOD OF MANUFACTURE Joseph Marius Tiola, Les Mauruches, Vallauris, France Filed Dec. 29, 1960, Ser. No. 79,421 Claims priority, application France, Jan. 11, 1960, 815,483 2 Claims. (Cl. 138171) This invention relates to the manufacture of furniture, the framework of which consists of metal tubes and which is generally called tubular furniture.

The tubes, which may be of any section, are machined according to the uses to which they will be put and to the joints by which they will be assembled. Working of the tubes, however, is always difficult and onerous, and it would be desirable to substitute the simple cutting of a metal sheet, an operation that is easy and cheap if mass production methods are used.

This invention therefore relates to the provision of a tubular member for articles of furniture, said member being made from a fiat sheet previously cut out in such a way as to provide all notches and slots required to form the necessary joints for assembling a piece of furniture therefrom, the said sheet being then folded and buttwelded in such a way as to form the said tubular member.

The advantage of the invention, in view of the very wide field covered, is at once evident. The goal sought to be achieved is the production of a piece of furniture with a tubular framework, but the basic material is no longer a tube, onerous and relatively difiicult to work. According to the invention, a simple flat sheet is substituted, which will be cut out along a line marked either by hand or automatically. A blank, winch will not have to undergo any further substance machining, will thus be provided with great ease and at a low cost.

This blank will, according to the invention, be folded back on itself according to the profile and section desired, in such a way as to bring together two of its edges which will then be Welded to one another. A tubular member can thus be formed which may be of any shape. It will differ very appreciably from ordinary tubes, since all slots and notches will have been cut out previously with ease at the same time as the blank was cut out from the original sheet. Fettling and pumicing or polishing sufiice to give a final appearance to a tubular member according to the invention.

It will be noted that the invention enables all sorts of tubes to be made. In the case of the commonest and simplest type of tube (cylinder of right circular section), the invention avoids work on the tube itself and substitutes the simple cutting out of the blank.

The invention can be applied with still greater advantage to tubes of complex section not to be found in the trade and which can easily be formed by folding as required.

It is, however, for the formation of tubular members of variable section that the invention is of very special interest, such a member being made with extreme simplicity by its application.

One such method of carrying out the invention, given as an illustrative and not as a restrictive example, is set out below and is illustrated by the figures of the accompanying drawing in which:

FIGURE 1 illustrates the blank cut out to shape,

FIGURE 2 illustrates the folding of the blank,

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FIGURE 3 illustrates the cross section of the tubular member, and

FIGURE 4 is a view in perspective of the tubular member.

The drawing illustrates a tubular member useful for an article of furniture according to the invention, and to which a very simple, quite special and preferential shape has been given. Said shape bears a resemblance to the frustrum of an approximately triangular pyramid with oblique sections, one of the sides of the base triangle having connecting curves at its extremities and a variable curve peculiar to it according to the point of the section.

In order to form this tubular member, a blank 1 is cut out of a metal sheet in the shape represented in FIGURE 1. The portions 2 which are cut away are intended to permit subsequent assembling of the member, and dotted lines 3 represent the axes along which the blank will be folded.

Blank 1 is set up on a folding machine where it is bent to right angles along lines 3 according to ordinary sheet- Working methods.

The cross-section of the blank is then as shown by solid lines in FIGURE 2.

Then, leaving the blank free, its edges are drawn together by exerting on them forces represented by arrows A and B, in such a way as to bring sides 4 and 5 of the blank into the positions shown by dotted lines 4 and 5' in FIGURE 2.

The median part 6 of blank 1, under these forces, itself becomes curved to a certain extent and the whole member assumes a section of the kind represented in FIGURE 3, the curvature of the median part 6 being more accentuated at the extremity 7 than at the extremity 8 of the part. The edges of the blank, drawn together at 9, will be then welded. Simple fettling and polishing will complete the work.

In the tubular member so obtained, the portions 2 which are cut away, permit immediate assembly without any further machining, with a view to the manufacture of numerous pieces of furniture. Without going outside the limits of the invention, infinitely more complex slots or notches could be provided, permitting the most complicated assemblies. Grooves or slots might also be provided in the body of the tubular member itself, with a view to other special assemblies and fittings.

What I claim is:

1. A method of forming a tubular tapered element, said method comprising: providing a sheet metal blank having a trapezoidal central section of a height substantially greater than the base thereof and two tapering lateral sections on the sides of the trapezoidal central section, the said lateral sections being provided with cut away extremities mergingwith the top and base of the trapezoidal central section, folding the blank at right angles along two converging lines constituting the sides of the trapezoidal central section to form an element having a base and upfolded sides, bending the free edges of the upfolded sides towards one another while leaving the element base free to deform along a curved path and joining the previously free edges of the up-folded sides together whereby a tapered tubular element of approximately triangular cross-section is formed.

2. A tubular tapered element, said element comprising References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Wallance Sept. 27, 1949 10 Leali Mar. 14, 1916 Kiley Mar. 31, 1931 Guhl June 16, 1936 Gora Nov. 23, 1937 Nordmark July 11, 1939 Wallance Aug. 1, 1950 Kessler Dec. 20, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS France Dec. 20, 1945 

1. A METHOD OF FORMING A TUBULAR TAPERED ELEMENT, SAID METHOD COMPRISING: PROVIDING A SHEET METAL BLANK HAVING A TRAPEZOIDAL CENTRAL SECTION OF A HEIGHT SUBSTANTIALLY GREATER THAN THE BASE THEREOF AND TWO TAPERING LATERAL SECTIONS ON THE SIDS OF THE TRAPEZOIDAL CENTRAL SECTION, THE SAID LATERAL SECTIONS BEING PROVIDED WITH CUT AWAY EXTREMITIES MERGING WITH THE TOP AND BASE OF THE TRAPEZOIDAL CENTRAL SECTION, FOLDING THE BLANK AT RIGHT ANGLES ALONG TAO CONVERGING LINES CONSTITUTING THE SIDES OF THE TRAPEZOIDAL CENTRAL SECTION TO FORM AN ELEMENT HAVING A BASE AND UPFOLDED SIDES, BENDING THE FREE DEGES OF THE UPFOLDED SIDES TOWARDS ONE ANOTHER WHILE LEAVING THE ELEMENT BASE FREE TO DEFORM ALONG A CURVED PATH AND JOINING THE PREVIOUSLY FREE EDGES OF THE UPFOLDED SIDES TOGETHER WHEREBY A TAPERED TUBULAR ELEMENT OF APPROXIMATELY TRIANGULAR CROSS-SECTION IS FORMED. 